Back in Time
by Jaymi1
Summary: Angel and Cordelia find themsleves sent back in time to Sunnydale to fight an unknown evil, while trying to keep their stay a secret from the Scoobies. Nominated for best Time Travel fic in the Shattered Frames Awards
1. Chapter One

Title: Back in Time Author: Jaymi E-mail: vision_gurl@hotmail.com Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Angel/ Cordy Disclaimer: I own nothing, don't sue me!! Note: My first stab at Angel fanfic so please review and tell me what you think! A few things you need to know before getting started, this fic takes place mid season three on Angel but with a few changes. Darla and Connor have not occurred (ahhh a perfect world(). It also takes place near the end of season three of Buffy. Confused yet?? Well read it and you'll find out!  
  
"We're back!" Cordelia's voice rang out in the empty lobby of the Hyperion hotel.  
  
The sound of her voice drew Wesley to the doorway of his office. Cordelia strode over to the seat in the middle of the room and dumped her shopping bags then flopped down next to them.  
  
"I take it the shopping trip went well," Wesley said, a smile forming on his face when he noticed that Cordy's shopping companion was noticeably absent.  
  
"Where's Angel?" He asked slightly worried that Angel hadn't survived his shopping trip. He envisioned Angel staking himself after being dragged around every store in the Los Angeles area.  
  
"Oh, he's bringing in the rest of the stuff," she said nonchalantly.  
  
"There's more?" He asked. Wes supposed he shouldn't have been surprised, after all Cordelia was the Queen of shopping and Angel had lost the ability to say no to her a long time ago.  
  
At that moment Angel stumbled through the door, weighed down with more packages and bags. Trying to make his way over to her without tripping over his own feet and breaking something.  
  
"Cordy, you do realise that the baby isn't due for at least another seven months right?" He asked sounding exhausted. He dumped the packages down with the rest and collapsed on the chair next to Cordelia. Cordy looked at him with her 'Well Duh' expression.  
  
"We need to sort these things out Angel. Unlike you I would like to be prepared for this baby. Seven months may seem like a long time to you but it's really not. You think this is bad Angel? We still have to do up the nursery," she said, looking at him with the slightest bit of sympathy.  
  
Angel groaned at the thought of having to pick out colours and furniture for the baby's room. It was actually kind of hard to think of decorating a room for the baby that would be coming into this world in several months. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Cordelia was pregnant with his child. They were going to have a baby together. And Angel could not be more thankful for that fact.  
  
It had been almost eight months since his soul became permanent. It seemed as though the Powers had decided that Angel had deserved a reward for all his hard work, for fighting the good fight so they made his soul permanent. The first thing he had done as the owner of a permanent soul was find Cordelia and tell her that he loved her and had done for a long time. He had been blissfully happy when she told him that she felt the same way. They had then set out to give his newly anchored soul a test run. And now, eight months later he was having a child with the woman he loved more than anything.  
  
They had all been shocked when Cordelia had told them that she was pregnant. She had been terrified, not so much by the fact that it was impossible for Angel to father children, but more because she had no idea how Angel would react to the news. She was relieved to find that Angel was ecstatic at this new information. Wesley had immediately gone into research mode, trying to find out why and how Angel and Cordelia were able to produce a child. So far their efforts had been fruitless. No prophecies, no warnings, no mention of a child borne of a vampire and a seer.  
  
But Angel and Cordelia had decided not to worry too much about the why and the how of their child and just revel in the miracle that was his or hers conception. Angel found that wonder dimmed slightly when he thought of how many more shopping expeditions he would have to go on before and after the baby was born. Shopping, with the people, and the spending of money, and the people. He couldn't stop the groan from escaping his lips at the thought.  
  
"Hey Broody, what was that for?" Cordy asked, hearing his sigh.  
  
"Nothing, I was just thinking...and hey! I am not broody!" He said, realising what she had just called him. Granted Broody was probably better than some other things she could call him but still... His thoughts were cut short by Cordy's scoff.  
  
"Yeah sure and I'm the Queen of fricking En..." The rest of her retort fading away. Angel was about to say something when he realised that she was floating a few centimetres above the chair that she had occupied a few minutes ago. He also noticed a faint glow emitting from all around her. He had never seen that before during a vision, maybe it was just another side effect of her semi-demon ness presenting itself. He didn't have much time to ponder that thought as Cordelia gasped.  
  
"Cordy what is it?" He asked her as the vision ended and she sat back in her seat.  
  
"It doesn't make sense, the visions are meant to help people in Los Angeles not..." She couldn't say it. Now Angel was beginning to worry.  
  
"What's going on Cordy, I need you to tell me so I can go save the people you saw," he said gently, knowing that the new vision was affecting her.  
  
"My vision...It's us, in Sunnydale. That's all I got! Just you and me in good old Sunnyhell. Jeez, just when I thought these things couldn't get any vaguer," she said, shaking her head. Then she tilted her head back so she was looking at the ceiling, and shouted hoping the Powers could hear her. "Thanks guys, you're a big help!"  
  
"Wait, are you sure it's Sunnydale you saw in your vision Cordelia?" Wesley piped up from his doorway.  
  
"Why wouldn't I be, you think I want to go back there? Why would I imagine it?" She asked as she glared at Wes.  
  
"Right, right. I didn't mean to doubt you Cordelia. I think the best idea might be for me to go and give Buffy a call and see what's happening," he said moving back into his office quickly, trying to avoid the wrath of Cordelia.  
  
"Great looks like we're going back to the Hellmouth. How fun," she said, slumping further into the seat she was sitting in.  
  
"We'll just wait and see what Wes hears from the Scoobies. Trust me; I don't wanna go back any more than you do. That place is full of bad memories..." He trailed off, staring at Cordelia.  
  
"What?" She asked seeing the look he was giving her. "Angel, what are you staring at?"  
  
"Cordy, are you ok?" He asked her worriedly.  
  
"Yeah why?" Ok now she was worried.  
  
"Because you're glowing again." He said motioning to the brilliant light that seemed to be emanating from her.  
  
"What?" She said as she looked down at herself, then she realised that it wasn't her that was glowing. "Wait, that's not me!" When she turned around she found the source of the light.  
  
Angel saw it at the same time she did and immediately recognised it for what it was, a portal. It was like hole had been torn into the air in the room and instead of darkness there was a very bright blue and silver light shining through it and into the room. Before either of them could do anything they felt themselves being lifted and pulled in the direction of the light, and then it was gone.  
  
They found themselves in the middle of the road in the darkness. After the startling brightness of the portal, they had to let their eyes adjust to the darkness that surrounded them. Angel's vision came back before Cordelia's and as he looked around, he couldn't help but suck in an unneeded breath.  
  
Cordelia noticed this action and suddenly felt frightened. "Angel, what is it? Where are we? I can't see a thing," she said, her voice shaking slightly. But Angel didn't speak, just kept looking around hoping that all of this was a bad dream, one which he would wake up from any time now, please.  
  
Cordelia's vision was coming back to her slowly, she could make out large fuzzy shapes that became sharper every minute, she could also hear music playing from somewhere off to her side. Finally she could make out where she and Angel were standing and couldn't help but mimic Angels' earlier action at the sight she saw.  
  
The portal had picked them up from the lobby of the Hyperion and dumped them down in the alleyway next to an extremely familiar building. The Bronze.  
  
Cordelia gasped. "What the hell?"  
  
TBC 


	2. Chapter Two

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews! It's really nice to hear that maybe my writing isn't as crap as I think it is! So read, enjoy and of course, review.  
  
Cordy gasped. "What the hell?" She grabbed Angel's upper arm, holding on for dear life. But Angel kept silent, trying to soak in his surroundings. He had seen this place thousands of times but he was still having trouble registering they were actually there. Standing in the middle of an alleyway in Sunnydale. Cordelia's terrified voice snapped him out of his reverie.  
  
"Angel, what the hell is going on? Please tell me this is all a really bad nightmare and I'm gonna wake up from it some time soon. Please," she begged him.  
  
"Ahh, I'm sorry Cordy, we're really here, as much as I'd like to believe that this is one big, bad nightmare, it isn't, we're really in Sunnydale," he said, once he was satisfied that this wasn't all in his head.  
  
"Oh man, when I find out who did this I am so gonna kick their asses," Cordy said angrily, she was really pissed off that someone had seen fit to send them to Sunnydale. She thought she'd said goodbye to this town a long time ago, she was happy in L.A. She supposed she should have known that things had been too good lately, should have realised that something was going to happen, and now it had. The she remembered her vision, the one prior to her Angel being sucked into the portal.  
  
"Oh my god! The damn powers sent us here!" She said turning to Angel, seeing the questioning look on his face continued to explain. "Before the whole being-sucked-into-the-portal-and getting-dumped-here thing, I had a vision, remember? It was of us in Sunnydale. The damn Powers gave me a sorry excuse for a warning and then sent us here! Jeez, impatient much? We could have packed up and driven, but no, the Powers had to have us here right away! God I hate them sometimes."  
  
"Sometimes?" He asked. Despite the situation they were in Angel couldn't help but smile at Cordelia's last comment.  
  
"Ok, ok most of the time," she said smiling back at him. "What are we gonna do now Angel? We don't know why we're here or how long we're gonna have to stay and what about everyone at home, they've gotta be worrying about us right?"  
  
"Ok well the first thing we have to do is find somewhere to stay because the sun will be up in a few hours and I really don't want to be burnt to a crisp right now." He said light-heartedly, trying to calm Cordy down a little more.  
  
"Yeah good plan, just one small question. Where are we going to stay?" She asked looking up at him expectantly.  
  
"We can't stay at the mansion, too many bad memories and it's too conspicuous, I don't wanna draw attention to us, especially not from Buffy and the Gang. I think it's best if we just deal with whatever we've been sent here to defeat and leave without dragging them into this and causing too many questions...Ummm, I know. We can stay at my old place. You know that apartment I had before the mansion," he suggested.  
  
"Yeah sounds good to me. Just another question though. You haven't lived there for like four or five years have you?" She asked, seeing his nod in affirmation she continued. "So wouldn't someone be like living in it now?"  
  
"Nuh, it was in the basement of an abandoned building, nobody knew about it but me, Buffy and apparently Kendra. It should still be in good shape, assuming of course that the building it was in hasn't been knocked down," he added as an afterthought.  
  
"Won't hurt us to take a look will it?" Cordy asked, more than willing to get out of the alleyway, she'd had a few moments in this alley that she would rather forget.  
  
"It might," another voice from behind them answered. They turned to find themselves face to face with three hungry looking vampires.  
  
"Oh great, just what we need!" Cordy sighed.  
  
At that moment the leader leapt at her, he was stopped midair by Angel, who had grabbed the vamp by his jacket and thrown him against the wall of the Bronze. Angel didn't give the vampire any time to recover as he kicked out and connected with its stomach. One of the remaining two rushed to help the first vampire out, running to Angel and kicking his legs out from underneath him. Angel landed heavily on the concrete, if he had had any breath it would have been knocked out of him. He quickly got back to his feet and punched the second vamp in the face, causing it to momentarily loose balance and stumble backwards and trip over the first vampire. Angel's hand dove into his jacket and found the stake that he always kept there for emergencies. He knelt down next to the fallen vampire and plunged the stake into its heart watching its body disintegrate until all that was left was a pile of dust on the floor.  
  
Angel was too busy dusting the second vampire that he didn't notice that the first had gotten back to his feet until he felt a boot collide with the back of his head. He saw stars momentarily as he pitched forward from the force of the blow. He stopped himself before he hit the ground, using his arms to push himself off the ground and jump at his opponent who was caught off guard and fell under the weight of Angel's body hitting him. As they hit the ground the vampire rolled so that he was on top of Angel holding him down to prevent any blows from making contact.  
  
"Aaaah, Angelus, still fighting with the White Hats I see. When will you learn that your place is in the darkness with us? You don't belong in the light; you don't belong with the good. You've been tainted with a soul, but you're no different than us. It's in you nature to destroy, to kill," he hissed at Angel as he head butted him.  
  
"Believe me buddy, you and I are a lot different, not just because you'll be a pile of dust in about ten seconds and I won't," Angel retorted as he vamped out, his teeth elongating, and his once smooth face forming ridges over his eyes.  
  
The third vampire had watched as one of his companions had been turned to a pile of dust, but had then turned his attention to Cordelia who had stood by watching Angel fight the two vampires, having forgotten all about the third in her worry. She was broken out of her trance when she heard the aforementioned vampire growl and stalk towards her.  
  
"Hmmm, this should be fun, while your honey over there gets the crap beaten out of him I might have a little snack," he said to her in a low, soft voice. As he got closer to her, he stopped momentarily as if listening for something.  
  
"Interesting," he sung out as he moved closer. "I can hear two heartbeats, the second is faint but it's there. Seems as though it's two for one sale today. Gee how lucky am I? I get to eat a mother and her unborn child."  
  
"You'll have to kill me first, and no way in hell am I gonna let that happen," she threatened as she pulled out her own stake, thankful for once that Angel had insisted she carry one around with her at all times.  
  
The vamp swung at her, expecting his fist to connect with her face. He didn't anticipate her arm coming up to block his attack as the other swung across and hit him in the side of the jaw. He was stunned at the power of the young woman, who was standing in front of him with her fists up and ready to block anything he threw at her.  
  
Good thing you bugged Angel for this training Cordy, she thought to herself. She made a note to remind Angel of this later in case he had anymore whining to do about how he could protect her and that she didn't need to learn how to fight. It was too bad she didn't have a sword with her now; she was always good with a sword. But there was no point in wishing for something else, all she had was a stake and she could work with that.  
  
The vampire swung at her again, this time harder than his last attempt. Again, Cordy put her arm up to block him but this time she couldn't hold him off and his fist connected with her jaw sending her flying. She hit the wall of the alley and slid down until she was hunched over on the ground.  
  
Angel, who was still being held down by vamp number one saw Cordelia get flung against the wall from the force of the other vampires blow. Rage bubbled up inside of him at the thought of Cordelia and his child being hurt in any way. He used all of his strength to roll the vamp on top of him to the ground and then rammed the stake into his chest, turning him to dust in seconds. Before the remains of the vampire could hit the ground Angel was up on his feet and attacking the vamp that had hurt Cordy.  
  
"How dare you touch her." He growled as his fist smashed into the vamp's face again and again. His vampire strength causing the bones to snap under the pressure. Angel was about to hit his almost unconscious opponent again when he heard Cordelia moan in pain. Instead he dropped the vamp, stepped over it, picked up her discarded stake and dusted it without another seconds thought. He didn't even wait to see the last of the vampire's turn to dust as he ran towards Cordelia's slumped form. He was relieved to hear two steady heartbeats, not wanting to think about what he would have done if he had only heard one. He could tell their child would be strong, another fact which he was grateful for.  
  
"Are you ok baby?" He asked softly as he crouched down next to her and lifted her chin, seeing the beginnings of a nasty black bruise forming on her left cheek. He stamped down the rage that once again pushed its way to the surface at the sight of her face; he had to make sure she was alright first.  
  
"Yeah I'm gonna be ok. I've just got a killer headache. Nothing a few painkillers won't help." She said wincing as she felt the side of her face to see how much damage the vampire had done. It was really going to hurt later but she was just glad the vampire hadn't broken anything. What she was really worried about was their baby; god knows what the impact of her hitting the wall could have done to the child nestled inside of her.  
  
"Angel, the baby..." She was cut short as Angel placed a light finger on her lips.  
  
"Shh, the baby's fine, I can hear its heartbeat, strong and steady," he reassured her, watching the fear slip off her face. He kissed her softly on the lips and shifted slightly so he could hug her to him. "Do you think you can stand? Or do you want me to carry you?" He asked. When he didn't hear a reply he pulled back and looked at her face, finding her eyes wide in shock and her mouth forming a large O shape. "Cordy? Baby, what is it?" He asked following her gaze and her hand as she picked up a flyer off the concrete in front of her.  
  
"Tell me why the hell, this flyer, which looks fairly new to me," she said waving the flyer in his face. "Has the date as the 17th of May 1999?" She asked him in shock.  
  
He took the flyer from her and surely enough there it was. On a brand new flyer advertising a band playing at the Bronze was the date of the show written in bold black writing so they couldn't miss it. May 1999. 


	3. Chapter Three

"1999, no way, this can't be happening," Cordelia's voice broke through the silence that had descended on both her and Angel. "I'm sorry, the PTB may be stupid but I'm sure they don't have a collective death wish."  
  
At the sound of Cordelia's voice Angel was snapped out of his silent denial. He stood suddenly and stalked off further down the alleyway. Cordelia's concerned expression followed him, wondering what the vampire was thinking. What was he doing? Her question was answered moments later when she saw him stoop to pick up a bunch of newspapers. He was trying to find some more evidence that they were in fact back in 1999.  
  
Angel flicked through the papers, some newer than other's. He checked the dates carefully on each paper, finding that they just confirmed what the flyer had told them. The newer newspapers were all from 1999, the older ones from mid to late 1998. He turned back to face Cordelia, the paper's clutched tightly in his hands. He really didn't want to tell her what they said, but he knew he had to. Taking an unneeded breath he moved back to where Cordelia was sitting up against the wall. He said nothing as he thrust the paper's at her. Cordelia looked up at him, then at the papers and slowly lifted her hand to take them from him.  
  
Cordelia was silent for a few minutes, leafing through the papers with pursed lips. Angel waited patiently as she read the dates and let all the information sink in. Then she snapped...  
  
"Goddamn stupid Powers That Be! If I ever see those bastards I'll kill them with my bare hands!" She all but yelled as she flung the papers to the ground. "How the hell could they do this Angel? They sent us back in time; it wasn't good enough to send us back to Sunnydale? Nooooo that wouldn't make us miserable enough would it??? Why? Why would they..."  
  
Cordelia trailed off. After Angel got over his gratitude that the yelling had stopped he noticed that Cordy was slowly beginning to look terrified. He stepped closer to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her face swung slowly towards him and he saw that she had silent tears running down her face. He reached up to begin to wipe away the tears but at that moment she began to talk.  
  
"Angel, you remember 1999 right?" She asked him. He was a bit stunned, how could he not remember, that was the year he left Sunnydale for L.A, that was the year he let go of Buffy, right after one of the biggest battles that he had taken part of, right after...Oh god he thought as he suddenly remembered what else had happened.  
  
Cordelia saw the look of comprehension on his face. He knew what she was talking about, somehow he always did. They had been sent back to the time right before the Mayor's Ascension, just one month before Sunnydale High had been burned to the ground. But why? They had been able to stop the Mayor; the proof was the pile of rubble that littered the ground where the high school used to be, well in her time maybe. Right now, Sunnydale High was still in one piece, and students would be gearing up to graduate and then get the hell away from Sunnydale.  
  
"So the Power's sent us back to just before the Ascension. Ok so, why? I don't get it," Angel said to her, as his hand drifted down her arm to link with hers.  
  
"I was just thinking that, I mean we managed to put a stop to the Mayor's Ascension so that must mean that we were sent here for some other reason. What it is, I have no idea. Maybe the PTB will send me vision and give us a clue. That would be really nice." She said sarcastically, feeling much better now that she could feel the cool pressure on Angel's hand in hers. He could always manage to make her feel better just with a touch. And she really needed to feel better right now.  
  
"Well that's great, so we'll just wait around for the PTB to get their arses into gear and tell us what the hell is going on," Angel sighed in exasperation. He would very much like to kill something right at the moment but one look at Cordelia told him that that would have to wait. She was trying to hide a yawn behind her free hand, he could have slapped himself. They had had a very long day, first the shopping expedition, then this. She needed to rest, and he needed to get inside before the sun came up. He squeezed her hand gently and began to pull her towards the entrance of the alley.  
  
"Come on Cordy, we can think about it later, you need to sleep, and I need to not burn to crisp if that's ok with you?" He asked, trying to lighten the situation a little.  
  
"Yes I would mind, don't think you'll get rid of me that easily mister," she replied, smiling up at him, silently thanking him for taking care of her. "Are we still going to go back to your old place?"  
  
"Yeah s'pose so. I mean we really can't go back to the mansion because, past me, or whatever would be there, and I'm not sure how we'd explain that one really," he said, pulling her against his side and wrapping an arm around her. He bega leading her towards his old apartment, silently thanking whoever was listening that he had a vampire memory and could still remember the way.  
  
"You know, we really shouldn't walk around like this, someone could see us and how would we explain that?" She told him, secretly hoping he wouldn't let go of her, she felt safe and unnaturally warm considering the fact that she was up against someone who didn't have body heat. It felt so good to be in his arms and she didn't want to leave, even if that meant being found out and having to answer a million questions that they didn't even have the answers to yet.  
  
"Yeah but you know I do have vampire senses and I swear if I hear someone coming we'll pretend like we don't even know each other," he said, tossing her a small smile, knowing that would never happen. She just smiled back, laid her head on his shoulder and kept walking.  
  
By the time they reached the building that held Angel's apartment the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. Angel let out a sigh of relief as they made their way down the stairs to the basement. He always felt uncomfortable and a little apprehensive being outside in the hours leading up to sunrise, but now that he was sheltered from the harmful rays he felt much better. He led Cordelia down the stairs and to his door, hoping that it wasn't locked. Turning the knob he was relieved to find that it wasn't. He pushed open the door and let her walk past him into the room.  
  
Cordelia came to a halt in the middle of the room and slowly turned in a circle to get a feeling for the apartment. It pretty much screamed Angel, well not so much her Angel, but the broody, dark and silent Angel from her Sunnydale years. Her eyes came to rest on the vampire as he moved around the room turning on lamps, trying to cast some light into the darkness that was his apartment.  
  
He had liked the darkness, not so long he had revelled in the darkness, he was a creature of the night, he was forced to live in the darkness. The dark was safe, in the dark he could pretend he wasn't who he had been, hadn't done the things he had done in the past. But now he realised he didn't like the dark at all, sure he was forced to live in it still but it didn't seem to be so bad anymore. He had Cordelia, she was the sun he could never have, she was all the light he needed, she made him feel warm, and loved, not cold and lonely. She made him feel like a man rather than a monster, and he would be forever grateful for that.  
  
"So want the grand tour?" He asked her as he came up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist, feeling her nod he pointed at one corner of the room. "That's the kitchen." Then he pointed at the corner with the bed. "That's the bedroom, and the bathrooms through that door there," he said pointing to a door in between the 'bedroom' and the 'kitchen'.  
  
"Hmmm, homely. Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that you now live in that nice spacious hotel of yours, that is semi well lit?" She teased as she begun to move towards the bed. When she got to it she sat and began to bend to take of her shoes. Angel came across the room and knelt to take one foot.  
  
"I'm not disabled you know, I can take my shoes off by myself," she protested half heartedly, silently glad that she wouldn't have to waste anymore of her dwindling energy.  
  
Angel just smiled and carried on with unlacing the surprisingly sensible shoes that Cordy was wearing. She had probably gotten sick of him teasing her about her choice of footwear. Why she always chose to wear completely inappropriate shoes everywhere, especially with the work that they did. He finally laid the second shoe next to the first at the side of the bed and helped Cordy get under the blankets of his bed. When she was comfortable he quickly removed his own shoes and climbed into the bed behind her, pulling her back up against his front, wrapping his arms around her, his hands coming to rest on her stomach. He could feel the slight curve of her body where his child, their child was growing and felt a smile spread across his face. Angel closed his eyes and buried his nose in Cordy's hair.  
  
"So, we'll just wait to see if the PTB send me a vision and give us a clue about what's going on huh?" Cordelia's sleepy voice broke the silence.  
  
"Yeah, but more importantly, right now we get some sleep. We'll just figure out what we're gonna do later, after we've recharged," he said snuggling closer to her warm body.  
  
"Sounds good to me," she replied. Before long, her soft snores informed her that she had finally fallen asleep, and whispering goodnight to his unborn child joined her in slumber.  
  
TBC  
  
Authors Note: Hey guys had to put this down here coz stupid word is doing something stupid to my document every time I try to type something. Thanks heaps for all your wonderful feedback! I had chapters two and three already typed up by the time I'd posted chapter one so I hope you guys can be patient for the next chapters!!! Well anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to hearing from you again!!! P.S. Jeez Nikka you ask too many questions! ( Just wait and see and you'll find out some answers!!! I will tell you that this is set after "The Wish" but that's all I'm givin ya!! 


	4. Chapter Four

Part 4:  
  
Cordelia could hear Angel moving around in the small apartment, she could hear the clang of utensils, the scraping of drawers being opened and closed and the dull thuds of objects being placed on the small table in the kitchen. She could also smell something that was sizzling away on the stove. She rolled slightly to her side so she had her back to the kitchen and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to somehow block out the smell that was making her feel slightly nauseous. It wasn't Angel's cooking, he was amazing in the kitchen, no it was her damn morning sickness. It was nowhere near as bad as it had been but it was still hanging around. The real problem was that she hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday and she was in fact really hungry, but the smell of the food being cooked was making her feel queasy and it wasn't getting any better. The nausea finally got so bad that Cordy had to get up and dash to the bathroom. Throwing herself down on the floor she emptied the meagre contents of her stomach into the toilet.  
  
Angel had just been retrieving two plates from the cupboard when he heard Cordelia practically sprint to the bathroom and vomit. 'Damn it,' he thought to himself as he threw the plates on the table, choosing to ignore the resounding crash they made as they connected with the table top and shattered. He re-traced Cordy's steps to find her hunched over the toilet bowl, trying to hold herself up on unsteady arms. He manoeuvred his way into the small room, dropped down next to her, pulled her hair back out of her face and gently began to rub her back soothingly with one of his big hands, knowing it was just morning sickness and that there was nothing he could do but be there for her. He had helped her through similar moments in the past three months, and had always felt as helpless as he did now. He could save the world, slay the demons, help the helpless, but he couldn't help Cordy with something as insignificant as morning sickness, she just had to weather it, grin and bear, and as far as Angel was concerned it sucked, big time.  
  
His silent rant was cut short when Cordelia, who had finished retching into the toilet bowl, lent back against the cool wall and moaned softly. Without leaving her side, Angel leant across the small space of his bathroom, grabbed a towel and wet the corner a little. He brought the slightly damp towel towards Cordy's face, in order to gently wipe away the sweat that had beaded on her forehead and nose.  
  
"I'm sorry Cordy." He said, but no sooner were the words out of his mouth than she was cutting him off.  
  
"Don't be Angel, you can't help it, I can't help it, so let's just leave it at that for the moment ok. It was just the smell that set me off, I'm actually really hungry and you know how much I love your cooking so don't worry bout it ok," she said getting up off the cold floor and pulling Angel along with her.  
  
Cordy managed to drag Angel back into the kitchen where she collapsed into one of the seats at the table and watched Angel as he began to clean up the mess he had made in his rush to get to her. She fought to stifle a smile as she thought about how much more protective he was of her since they found out she was pregnant. The last few months must have been hard on him, she thought to herself. She knew that he hated the fact that he couldn't help her through things like morning sickness, he never told her that, but she knew him better than he thought and she was proud of that, proud of the fact that she knew more about him than anyone would, even, dare she say it (well think it really). Buffy.  
  
Ahh the Slayer, she thought to herself. She had long since gotten over her childish rivalry with the 'Chosen One.' Moved on from the jealousy that she had harboured over Buffy's relationship with Angel, after being absolutely positively assured that whilst the vampire had loved the Slayer at some point and although she still had a special place in his unbeating heart, there was absolutely no way that he would give up what he had with Cordelia for any other woman, let alone the infamous Slayer. Yet Cordelia couldn't help still feeling a little anxious that at one point in time they had shared a very passionate, albeit, turbulent relationship and Angel would one day get tired of Cordelia and decide that he was kidding himself and all he really wanted was Buffy. At that thought she mentally shook herself, since when had Cordelia Chase, Queen C, biggest, baddest bitch of Sunnydale High become insecure about guys? Since you fell in love with Angel, she heard a little voice inside her head speak out and knowing that in some way it was true. She had never really been in love with anyone before, well maybe Xander for a while there, but not as much as she was with Angel and maybe she wouldn't love anybody as much ever again. Speaking of the object of her affections, he had just put a plate, knife and fork down in front of her and sat himself down across from her.  
  
"Have I mentioned how much I love you lately?" She asked him as she picked up a fork and began to eat, taking small mouthfuls just incase her body decided that it didn't like the idea of food. She heard him chuckle quietly and then get up to pour himself a glass of blood.  
  
"I take it I've been asleep all day," she said as she watched him put the bottle of blood back into the refrigerator and sit back down in his seat, sipping from the glass every so often.  
  
"Uhh, how'd you guess? I mean it's not really like you can tell in here," he said gesturing around him to the darkness that came with not having any windows.  
  
"Well you know it's been a while since you've lived here and I doubt someone would come by and stock up your fridge with nice, fresh food and blood everyday and you can't really go out into the sun for fear of mucho sunburn so I just took an educated guess," she said smiling at him softly.  
  
"Alright I get it, stupid question, I really should think before I open my mouth hey," he said smiling at her warmly. She loved that smile, glad for the chance to see it so often considering Angel's broody nature.  
  
She went back to her food and began eating as a comfortable silence washed over them. Cordy slipped back into her thoughts from earlier when she remembered something that Angel had said to her earlier when they had just found out where and when they were, it hadn't bothered her at the time because she had been too worried about everything else to bother but now she felt that familiar anxiety creep into her again.  
  
"Angel?" She asked looking up from her plate.  
  
"Hmmm," he said whilst taking a gulp from his glass.  
  
"Earlier, when you suggested we come here, you mentioned that you didn't want to see Buffy, why?" She questioned, all the while scolding herself for being so self conscious.  
  
"Well," he said, a frown forming on his face. "It's just that, you know Buffy's just come back from the dead, well in our time anyway, and last time I was here it just caused stirred trouble and she doesn't need that right now. Why? Why do you ask?"  
  
"Oh it's nothing, I was just curious is all," she said, feeling a bit stupid for worrying about it at all. For crying out loud girl how many times has he told you that he loves you and only you? She asked herself in frustration. But Angel wasn't satisfied with her answer it seemed.  
  
"Look, Cordy, I don't know how many times I can tell you that I love you and would never leave you before you believe me but I'm saying it again," he told her softly, reaching across the small table and taking her hand. "I love you so much and I would never dream of leaving you for Buffy or anyone else for that matter, Buffy was in my past, I've moved on, you can too."  
  
I wonder how many times he told Buffy that, the annoying little voice in her head said. She decided she was going to ignore that voice until it went away; no good was going to come from listening to it. All of a sudden she felt a familiar weightlessness as she left her seat and began to hover.  
  
"Cordy?" Angel asked her, getting up from his seat and moving around the table to stand beside her. He knew better by now than to interrupt her while she was receiving a vision, he also knew that they couldn't hurt her anymore which was also a big plus.  
  
Visions of screaming people, bloodied and beaten, and piles of dead bodies flew through her mind. All she could hear were their anguished cries, their pleas to be spared, and then suddenly a monstrous face flashed before her closed eyes. Teeth gleaming in, face twisted into some gruesome form of a smile and what looked to her like blood splashed across its face.  
  
Cordy gasped as the vision ended just as suddenly as it began. Her visions had never been a walk in the park, but this one was different somehow. It had been as vague as usual and she had expected that, but during the vision she had gotten this feeling, she couldn't explain it any better. Just a feeling that told her that she should be worried, that this was not some normal find and slay the demon she saw in her vision was trouble, and that did nothing to settle her already frazzled nerves.  
  
This guy, this demon thingy was big trouble and she was starting to realise why they had been sent back the Sunnydale circa 1999, they had to stop this guy, she didn't know all of the specifics, well, she didn't know any of the specifics, all she knew was that they would have to go into ultimate research mode, maybe recruit the help of the local Chosen One and her gang 'cause the two of them alone sure as hell wouldn't be much of a match-up against the thing from her vision.  
  
"Cordy? What sis you see?" Angel asked her, crouching down to come face to face with her.  
  
"You know how you said you didn't wanna bother Buffy, well you just may have to yet." She said quietly.  
  
TBC 


	5. Author's Note

Author's Note:  
  
Hey guys, I know it's been a while and I wanna thank you all for being so patient!!! I'm having a few troubles getting my fifth part out. A few weeks ago I had a motorbike accident, nothing bad or anything, but it's been a real hindrance to my plans being stuck in bed for so long, and on top of that I have major writer's block for this next chapter, I've got no idea where to go from chapter four! But never fear, I will figure it out and hopefully have a brand spanking new chapter up for you all to enjoy as soon as I possibly can! Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews; they're what drive me to finish this story!! See you soon, Jaymi 


	6. Chapter Five

Part 5-  
  
A/N- Thanks so much everyone for the wonderful feedback to part four!! It really drives me to keep churning new chapters out!!! Thanks also for your patience and understanding during the long wait between chapters!! I really really hope you enjoy this chapter nad that it was worth the wait!  
  
"What?" Angel asked her, hoping she hadn't just said what he thought she had.  
  
"I said we might have to go and see Buffy," Cordy said, watching his face carefully to see what kind of reaction he'd have to this news. She was relieved beyond belief that Angel seemed upset at this news. Oh thank God, she thought to herself, all the while feeling bad at feeling good about Angel's discomfort.  
  
"Why? What did you see?" Angel asked her, hoping that maybe they wouldn't have to do this. Seeing Buffy and the gang would only complicate things beyond belief. He and Cordy would have to explain what was going on and the Scoobies would have a hard time believing their situation, and when they did accept what was going on there would be some very uncomfortable questions that Angel wasn't sure they could answer.  
  
"Ah well, nothing that gave me the warm fuzzies, I'll tell you that now," she joked, trying to lighten up the situation a little. "The usual you know, blood, gore, screaming people. And then this big ugly dude with even bigger dental issues than you. It was just like a standard PTB migraine- disguised-as-a-vision, but I just got this feeling, like this was bigger than us, that we can't fight this on our own. And hey who better to recruit in the fight against the nasties than this town's very own Slayer, huh?"  
  
Angel took another look at Cordy, and then leaned back slowly so that he was propped up against the leg of the table. God why can't anything ever be easy? He thought to himself. Ok so I maimed and killed and was generally evil, and I'm paying for it, but this? This is too much. God just think of all the trouble this is going to cause!  
  
"Angel would you please say something?" Cordelia asked him. "You look like you're trying to figure out a way to fake your own death, jeez, you really don't wanna see Buffy and the gang do you?"  
  
"No," he said but rushed on when he saw Cordelia open her mouth to speak again. "But it's not what you think ok. I'm just worried about how things will go. I mean they're gonna have a tough time believing all this you know. And then, if for some unknown reason they do believe us there'll be all sorts of questions. Are you sure you wanna go through that?"  
  
"Don't think I haven't considered all of this Angel, 'cause I have," Cordelia said after a while. "I just think that there's no other choice, is there? We can't fight this thing on our own, we need help. And the faster we get this done, the faster we can get home. Plus, hey, we've been through worse than the Scooby gang interrogation, we'll answer their questions, get their help, slay the big bad and then go home to our nice normal lives.ok, ok, normal for us anyway!" She added quickly, seeing the look on Angel's face.  
  
"Ok, look I know you're right, I know we have to get their help if we wanna get out of here, but I just.Why can't anything ever be easy?" He asked her, hoping that she would say something to make him feel better.  
  
"I know what you mean Angel, but unfortunately for us this is the life we have, no use complaining about it, well not now anyway," she said comfortingly. "Look, how about we go see Giles first, he's bound to be much calmer about all of this; he's not likely to fly off the handle at us. So we'll go to him, see if he can help us. How does that sound?" She asked him hoping that he would go for her idea.  
  
"Ok, sounds like a better plan than just marching up to Buffy and her friends and ether waiting for the laughter or a nice pointy stake. Giles should be reasonable about all this, after all he is a Watcher, I mean our situation can't be that weird can it?" He asked her, getting up from the floor and slowly pulling her up from the chair she had been sitting on and into his arms.  
  
It still surprised him a little when she wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled into his chest like she had done every other time they were in this position. He had wondered daily how he had come to deserve someone so beautiful, both outside and in, as Cordelia. This woman who had the rest of her life ahead of her, who was so innocent, had chosen him, at one time the most evil of beings, who had destroyed the lives of people like her without even thinking twice about it. She trusted him, wanted him and loved him, and he couldn't help but think that after everything that he had gone through, maybe he deserved to feel like this, maybe just maybe he did deserve her.  
  
Cordelia felt Angel pull out of their embrace just a little, lifting her head slowly from his chest where it had been rested just a minute before, their eyes locked as Angel slowly lowered his mouth to hers. God she loved this, every time he kissed her it was like he was putting his entire self behind it, like he had to prove that he loved her and how much, every single time he kissed her. That was one of the things she really loved about Angel, that whilst he remained stoic and quite and unemotional on the outside, he really did feel things, and feel them strongly, and when he was with her he didn't feel the need to hide these feelings.  
  
Finally, after a few minutes, Angel pulled back to let Cordelia breathe. His head found its way to her shoulder where he rested his forehead, listening to her laboured breathing, smiling slightly at the sound of the increase in her heart rate, knowing he was responsible for it. He smiled even wider when he heard the tiny little heart of his child beating away inside its mother. That sound still amazed him and he had a feeling it would continue to do so for a very long time.  
  
"Ok, look, I've figured out a plan," Cordy said as she got her breath back. "How 'bout we get some sleep, and tomorrow afternoon I'll go to the library while Buffy and the gang are in class. I'll talk to Giles, tell him what's going on, make him believe me any damn way I can and get down on my hands and knees and beg him to help us if need be."  
  
"I don't want you doing this by yourself," Angel said, his over protectiveness making its presence known once again. "What happens if you run into Buffy, or Willow, or Xander? What happens if you run into your past self? How the hell would you explain that?"  
  
"Look I know it's gonna be difficult and I'll have to be really careful, but I wanna get this over and done with and the sooner we get in contact with Giles the better. In case you've forgotten, you're still a vampire, still can't go out into the sun, so I'll have to go myself. I'll be careful, I promise," Cordelia said to him, already knowing that she had won this little argument, Angel could never say no to her.  
  
"Alright, but I want to see Giles, try and work something out with him, I want to help figure this out and I really don't want you to do all of this alone," he said, hoping that she would listen to him for once and do as he asked.  
  
"Ok, ok, I'll try to sort something out with Giles, you'll be a part of all this don't worry, especially if there's research to be done, all those smelly, musty books, there's no way you'll be getting yourself outta that one," Cordelia said, smiling up at him. "So, why don't we just get some sleep and I'll go into the school tomorrow and find Giles. Sound like a good idea to you?"  
  
"Yeah ok," he said, still not very happy about the prospect of Cordy going to see Giles by herself, but she was right, he couldn't go out in the sun, and they needed to start sorting things out, if they ever wanted to get back to LA.  
  
And, as they had the day before they both climbed into bed-Cordy wrapped up in the tight cicle of Angel's arms-said their goodnights and fell into a peaceful sleep.  
  
***  
  
It was around eleven o'clock when Cordy finally managed to get to the school. Angel had still been apprehensive about her going out alone, but she had reminded him that she was a big girl and didn't always need to be protected by him, she could look after herself, afterall, how else had she managed to survive through her years living here on the Hellmouth? He had finally, grudgingly, let her go, realising that they had to do something and he wouldn't really be able to stop her from going anyway. She had kissed him goodbye and set off for the school, still knowing the route after all these years.  
  
The halls of the school were deserted and it was hard to believe that in the not too distant future the walls around her would be mere piles of dust and rubble. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt a little nostalgic walking through these halls again. Last time she had been here life was so much easier, sure, things had been a little complicated after she had found herself mixed up with the Scoobies, but, she had been a teenager then, the biggest problems she had had were who she was going to go to the prom with or what she would wear to the Bronze that night. Things had been easier then, now she was in the adult world where she had to deal with adult problems, not to mention supernatural ones as well. And right now she had a whole pile of problems to sort through, the biggest being how the hell she'd tell Giles what's going on without him either thinking she was a raving loonatic, or taking a stake to her.  
  
Oh well, she thought to herself as she rounded the corner, coming to a halt in front of the familiar swinging doors that mark the entrance to the library. No time to think about it now, I'll just tell him the truth and if he doesn't believe me I'll have to think of something else.  
  
With that thought, she took a deep breath and pushed open the doors, to see a thoroughly deserted library.  
  
Great, she thought, huffing as she perched herself on the table in the middle of the room. Trust Giles to finally get out of this damn library when I need him!  
  
While she waited for Giles to return, Cordelia looked around the library that had become something of a Head Quarters for the Scoobies back in the day when the school had been standing. She remembered sitting at the chairs that surrounded the table she was now sitting on and moaning and groaning about research. She remembered the bookshelf in which she and Xander had kissed only to have Willow find them and Xander chase after her as she fled. She remembered finding Vamp Willow in the book cage and letting her out, not realising that she wasn't the real Willow. And she definitely remembered clinging to Angel as they sat at this table waiting for the Scoobies after she had discovered a bin full of body parts, god she had been desperate, clinging to him like there was no tomorrow. She chuckled to herself as she remembered how uncomfortable Angel had been in her presence, he hadn't been like that with her in a long while, not since her first year with him in LA, Angel was not really a people person and she was glad that she had mananged to crack through the barriers he had formed to cut himself off from human interaction, she was glad he felt comfortable around her. Her thoughts were cut short by a deep cough, like someone clearing their throat, she looked up to see Giles standing in front of her, book in hand as usual.  
  
"Can I help you?" He asked her, looking at her strangely, like he couldn't place her name to her face.  
  
"Oh god Giles I really, really need your help," she said, standing and walking forwards a few paces.  
  
"Ah, I'm sorry, but have we met?" He asked her, looking at her familiar face but not recognising exactly who she was.  
  
"Jeez, I haven't changed that much! Ok so, I cut my hair and I'm not really heavily into the designer clothes, shoes and accessories anymore, but hey you should still recognise me!" She looked at him, hoping that he would recognise her now, but seeing that he didn't.  
  
"Oh for crying out loud Giles, you're meant to be all observant and super intelligent," she said in exasperation. "It's me, Cordelia."  
  
TBC  
  
A/N 2- I know, I know I'm evil but I couldn't help ending it like this!!! I promise to have the next part up as soon as humanly possible!! In the meantime, please review!!! 


	7. Chapter Six

A/N: Hey guys, sorry its taken sooooo long to get this out!! Seems life just doesn't want me to write this somethimes!! I've had a lot of stuff to sort out this past month, but hopefully it won't be so bad now and I'll have more time to get the parts out quicker. I'm not really all that happy with this chapter but I had to give you something so here you go!!  
  
Oh and, thanks you sooooooo much to whoever it was that nominated me at Shattered Frames, it means a lot to me that you like my fic enough to do that! I was so excited when I got the e-mail telling me that I had been nominated for best Time Travel fic, so again thank you very very much! Anyway, on with the show, hope you enjoy!!  
  
Part 6-  
  
Oh God, Cordelia thought, he's had a heart attack or something! I've killed Giles!  
  
She'd been standing before him for ten minutes, ten excruciatingly long minutes in which all he did was stare at her blankly. She had originally intended to let him have a moment to collect his thoughts, but honestly, it was beginning to get ridiculous.  
  
Cordelia bought a hand up in front of his face, clicking her fingers, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of him. He looked up at her with a startled expression on his face, when she had finally managed to snap him out of his stupor.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said, removing his glasses. "You said you're name was Cordelia? May I ask, Cordelia who?"  
  
Cordelia sighed in exasperation, God for a man so intelligent he's actually quite a dumbass when he wants to be, she thought, hoping he'd snap out of it soon enough to help Angel and herself.  
  
"Chase, Cordelia Chase," she said, watching him intently and praying he wouldn't space out again.  
  
"That's what I thought," he sighed dejectedly, as he bought a familiar white handkerchief from his pocket and began to clean his glasses. Cordelia couldn't help but smile fondly as she watched him, remembering the many times she had watched him do just the same during her time with the Scoobies. Giles had a habit of polishing his glasses when he was confused, and Cordelia couldn't begin to guess what was going on in his head at that moment.  
  
"Look," she started softly, hoping to explain what was going on. "I know this is hard to understand, I know you'll probably think I'm loony, but I'm Cordelia Chase, only not the Cordelia Chase you know. I'm Cordelia from about three and a half years from now. We were sent here for a reason, we just haven't figured that reason out yet and that's where you come in, we need you're help, we need to find out why we're back and how to fix this whole situation so we can go back to our own time."  
  
"Wait," Giles said, still polishing his glasses. "Who is 'we'? Someone else is with you?"  
  
"Oh yeah," she said, forgetting that she hadn't mentioned Angel was with her. "Yeah ummm, Angel's here with me, he was sent back too."  
  
"This is impossible," Giles muttered to himself. "People can't travel backwards in time, it's utterly impossible."  
  
"Ah hello, you remember where you are right?" Cordy asked him gesturing around the library. "You live on the Hellmouth, there's no such thing as impossible here. We.Angel and I were sent back here by the almighty Powers That Be to right some wrong, fight some evil, blah, blah, blah, and we really wanna get this over and done with so we can get back to our timeline, 'cause it's nice there, we like it! We've done our time here and we don't much like the idea that we're back."  
  
"You're right," Giles started matter of factly, replacing his glasses and shoving his handkerchief back in his pocket, and then folding his arms across his chest. "I expect it's not impossible for one to travel back and forward in time. What is also possible is that you are not really Cordelia Chase, that you are some evil creature masquerading as Cordelia, looking to do god knows what."  
  
"Yeah I was waiting for the plausibility issue to come up," Cordy said, desperately trying to think of something that would prove to him that she was for real. Oh god, think of something, she thought to herself. Something that happened, something that the present me wouldn't know about. C'mon Chase think! Umm...oh I got it!  
  
"I know that Faith's all evil and working for the Mayor, I know that you and Buffy are trying to work out a way to get information out of her, I know that Buffy and Angel will try and trick her into believing that he's evil, to get some insider info. I could tell you everything that happens from now to the Mayors ascension, but I won't 'cause that would take way too much time.  
  
"Look the fact is that if some big, scary demon thingy was gonna masquerade itself as one of the Scoobies to works its evil will or whatever, why would it say it was me? I mean why not pretend to be someone you actually trust? Why not Buffy? Or Xander? Or Willow?" She asked him hoping that he would see what she was trying to say.  
  
Giles stared at her, seemingly processing all the information she had given him. After a long minute, he unfolded his arms, allowing them to dangle at his side and nodded at her slightly.  
  
"You do have a point," he said with a sigh, picking up his books and jacket from the table where he'd placed them when he'd entered the library and heading towards his office.  
  
"Oh thanks god!" Cordy exclaimed, following him to the doorway of his office and standing in it. "Look Giles I know that I won't fully have your trust, well not for the moment anyway, but you have to trust that I have good intentions here, all I wanna do is find a way for Angel and I to get home, to our own time. Can you do that? Will you help us please?"  
  
Giles looked up at her, from the position he had taken in the chair behind the desk. As much as he knew he shouldn't, he trusted this Cordelia, believed her story. He was still cautious, not ready to trust her one hundred percent just yet, but there was just something about her that seemed genuine, it was a nice change to the usual Cordelia who was always so spiteful and catty, maybe that was why he trusted her.  
  
"Yes, I will help you," he said. "But there's one thing I wanted to know first, why did you come to me? Why not Buffy? Or Willow?"  
  
"Angel and I talked about this before I came here," she said, happy that he had asked her something she could easily answer. "We don't want to get the rest of the gang involved, at least not yet. I mean can you just imagine us trying to explain our story to them? They would be twice as hard to convince, assuming they don't jump to conclusions and kill us first. We just thought that maybe it would be best to keep this quiet for the moment, Buffy has enough to deal with at them moment what with the Mayor wanting to get all ascendy and you know graduating and stuff! You're the one with the books, and the brains so we thought we might try you out first. Plus Buffy and Angel have some issues that we just don't wanna get into again right now, so yeah, that work for you?"  
  
"Quite," Giles said, slightly confused, the future Cordelia, it seemed still had her way with words.  
  
"Look Giles, I know I've asked a lot of you today, but I have one more favour to ask," Cordelia said, praying that he'd say yes.  
  
"Go ahead," Giles said, wondering what she was going to ask him to do.  
  
"Angel wants to be involved in the research and stuff," she started. "But seeings that he's you know, still allergic to the sunlight, we were wondering if you could maybe come to us, or we could come here after dark or something."  
  
"Ahh, alright," he said, he had almost forgotten that Angel was back as well. He wondered for the first time where they were both staying, how they were going to live in Sunnydale, without anyone knowing about their presence. "That's fine Cordelia, I shall come to you tonight, we can talk about what you know in further detail and then we can start to figure out what we need to look for in terms of books and research. Where are you staying?"  
  
"We're in Angel's old place; you know that apartment, that's really like a basement in some old abandoned building. I don't know if you know where it is," she said, trailing off, hoping that she wouldn't have to give him directions.  
  
"I know where it is," he said, quietly. "Buffy told me. I've never been there but she told me about it. I'm fairly certain I can find my way there. I'll be there around seven, presuming that something drastic doesn't happen in the meantime."  
  
Cordelia snorted, something drastic was always happening. At that moment, she heard the doors of the library swing open and familiar voices ring out from around the corner.  
  
"Giles?" Buffy called. "Hey Watcherman, are you in here?"  
  
"Oh yeah, Giles not in the library," she heard Xander reply. "The apocalypse really is coming, oh god we're all gonna die."  
  
"Xander," Willow scolded.  
  
The voices were coming closer, Cordelia realised that his office would be the first place they looked, and she really didn't want to be seen here. She dashed through his office and behind the counter, hoping they hadn't heard her or seen her.  
  
"I'm in here," Giles called, as he got up from his chair and closed the door between his office and the space behind the counter, making sure the Buffy, Willow, Xander and Oz wouldn't see her. "Is it lunchtime already?"  
  
"Yep," Xander said. "Aren't you glad to see us?"  
  
Oh great, Cordelia thought. I'm stuck here till they leave. Great, just great!  
  
TBC 


End file.
